1897 Chicago Street Corner Footage

If you're a fan of cinema history or simply read some of our articles on cinematography pioneers, you might already know that Thomas Edison was one of the very first to come up with a movie camera and shoot footages with it. Now, why don't we follow one of Edison's cameramen as he hits a street corner of 1897 Chicago with a movie camera?

In 1891, famed American inventor Thomas Edison built an early filmmaking device called the kinetograph (camera) paired with the kinetoscope (peep-hole viewer) after he met photography pioneer Eadweard Muybridge and saw his early motion picture work. Aside from taking the very first movies exhibited using his kinetoscope, Edison also established a motion picture production company under his name.

Aside from the films produced inside Edison’s Black Maria Studio, the cameramen of Edison Studios also took many footages of everyday outdoor scenes (called actuality films), including this short one filmed in the corner of Madison and State Streets in 1897 Chicago:

Calling our dear lomographers from Chicago! Do you have some monochrome footages of this of present-day bustling corner Madison and State streets filmed using the LomoKino? Why don’t you share them with us with a comment below!

Enter a new analogue dimension with the LomoKino. Lomography’s own 35mm analogue movie camera allows you to capture action and immortalize your story on film! Shoot 144 frames on any 35mm film and create your own cinematic masterpieces. Want to watch your movie the old-school way? We also offer the LomoKino and LomoKinoscope package!

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